Professional Letter Campaign

Every Brain Matters Takes Action and we need your help!

Now on our site, you will find well-researched professional letters addressing the science behind the many harms of marijuana, to send to your legislators, doctors, business associates, city council, or anyone you think needs to read them. These are all peer-reviewed, free, and approved by a team of doctors and researchers.

These letters have been compiled for our EBM Advocacy team by medical and research professionals, and now are available for your use! They are part of an ongoing project to educate Congress led by EBM Advocacy members and cover a wide variety of topics:

1. Correlation between dispensaries and hospitalization rates.

2. Impaired driving.

3. High potency products and increase in youth use and mental health problems.

4. Second-hand marijuana smoke.

5. Marijuana and pain.

6. Marijuana and depression and suicide.

7. Association of increasing cannabis use with US pediatric cancers and reproductive cell damage …

8. Cannabidiol (CBD) in e-cigarette products, when heated, converts to the psychoactive THC

9. Increased risk for COVID-19 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated patients with cannabis use disorder

10. Toxicant Formation in Dabbing Cannabis: The terpene story

11. Pediatric cannabis exposures reported to MI poison center after medical marijuana legalization

This list will grow as we add a new topic each month. You can use these as letters, emails, and posts for all social media sites by using these shareable links. Or Just print or copy and paste to send from this page. We’ve even made posting easy as you can link the article and copy and paste the three points into the post!

Let’s continue to work together to get the word out about science and marijuana use!

If you have any questions, please contact us at  [email protected]


December 2021

Pediatric cannabis exposures reported to MI poison center after medical marijuana legalization

Dear                             :

 On 7/15/2021, the Surgeon General issued a warning on health disinformation. He was referring to Coronavirus, but misinformation is costing lives in drugs, addiction, and marijuana use. 

I am contacting you today to share science-based health policy on marijuana. My goal is to provide you with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans

You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  Anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  

All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, protecting Americans for over a century.  There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this communication, and future communication, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. On 1/11/1964, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on tobacco based on review of 7,000 medical publications. To date, there exist over 37,500 articles on marijuana research reports in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana).

On 8/29/2019, the Surgeon General emphasized “the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”  

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain | HHS.gov

Attached please find an accessible peer-reviewed scientific article on the topic of pediatric cannabis single-substance exposures reported to the Michigan poison center from 2008-2019 after medical marijuana legalization

https://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(20)31419-0/fulltext

  • Three Key Points
  1. States where marijuana was legalized or decriminalized have continued to show a concomitant rise in pediatric cannabis exposures and increases in emergency department visits or hospitalizations despite attempts to place in opaque, child-resistant packaging.  A doubling of events every 2.1 years was seen in Michigan.
  2. In reported single substance exposures to the Michigan poison center, marijuana ingestion was the most common route of exposure (76.8%) with edibles products being the most prevalent (69.4%) at a median exposure age of 5 years old.
  3. Both ingestion and inhalational exposures can lead to anxiety, panic attacks, psychosis, altered mental status, dangerous behaviors, and a number of other health and psychiatric effects.

Thank you for reading the letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific article. If you can help find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis legalization results in a decrease in pediatric poison center reports, please send them to me.

With regards,

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


November 2021

Toxicant Formation in Dabbing Cannabis: The terpene story

Dear                             :

 On 7/15/2021, the Surgeon General issued a warning on health disinformation. He was referring to Coronavirus, but misinformation is costing lives in drugs, addiction, and marijuana use. 

I am contacting you today to share science-based health policy on marijuana. My goal is to provide you with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans

You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  Anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  

All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, protecting Americans for over a century.  There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this communication, and future communication, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. On 1/11/1964, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on tobacco based on review of 7,000 medical publications. To date, there exist over 37,500 articles on marijuana research reports in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana).

On 8/29/2019, the Surgeon General emphasized “the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”  

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain | HHS.gov

Attached please find an accessible peer-reviewed scientific article on the topic of toxicant formation in dabbing (cannabis): the terpene story.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.7b01130

  • Three Key Points:
  • The results of these studies indicate that dabbing, consistent with vaping, delivers significant amounts of toxic degradation products (i.e. methacrolein, benzene, 1-3 butadiene).  
  • Benzene concentrations (the largest single known cancer-risk air toxic) found in heated dabbing terpenes are greater than those found in ambient air.  Methacrolein is structurally similar to acrolein another powerful pulmonary irritant.1-3 butadiene is a known carcinogen and mutagen found in the Prop 65 carcinogen list in California.
  • Terpenes are naturally found in cannabis products and are added to some dabbing products.  Normally terpenoid degradation by heat is of little concern in standard cannabis products but is problematic when vaporization using high temperatures occurs.  Long term impact of these terpenoid degradation substances can have major effects in humans.

Thank you for reading the letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific article. If you can help find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis terpene products found in dabbing are safe and effective for human consumption, please send them to me.

With regards,

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


October 2021

Increased risk for COVID-19 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated patients with cannabis use disorder

Dear                             :

 On 7/15/2021, the Surgeon General issued a warning on health disinformation. He was referring to Coronavirus, but misinformation is costing lives in drugs, addiction, and marijuana use. 

I am contacting you today to share science-based health policy on marijuana. My goal is to provide you with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans

You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  Anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  

All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, protecting Americans for over a century.  There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this communication, and future communication, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. On 1/11/1964, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on tobacco based on review of 7,000 medical publications. To date, there exist over 37,500 articles on marijuana research reports in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana).

On 8/29/2019, the Surgeon General emphasized “the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”  

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain | HHS.gov

Attached please find an accessible peer-reviewed scientific article on the topic of increased risk for COVID-19 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated patients with substance use disorders in the  United States between December 2020 and August 2021

.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34612005/

  • Top Three Key Points:

1. Only marijuana use disorder – not opioids, alcohol, cocaine – confers significantly higher risk for breakthrough Covid disease cases among the vaccinated compared with non-substance use disorder (SUD) vaccinated populations, after controlling for other co-variates. 

2. The risk for breakthrough COVID infection was more than TWICE the rate for those with cannabis SUD compared to non-SUD population (7.8% vs 3.6%) (p<0.001).

3. There was a 55% higher risk for breakthrough infection in cannabis use disorder, even though they were younger and had less comorbidities than other SUD subtypes, despite being matched for adverse socioeconomic determinants of health and comorbid medical conditions with non-SUD patients.  This may be associated with the cannabis group having additional negative impacts previously seen with cannabis on the pulmonary and immune systems.

Thank you for reading the letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific article. If you can help find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that  marijuana decreases the risk for breakthrough COVID -19 infections despite receiving COVID vaccinations, please send them to me.

With regards,

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


September 2021

Cannabidiol (CBD) in e cigarette products, when heated, converts to the psychoactive THC

Dear                             :

On 7/15/2021, the Surgeon General issued a warning on health disinformation. He was referring to Coronavirus, but misinformation is costing lives in drugs, addiction, and marijuana use. 

I am contacting you today to share science-based health policy on marijuana. My goal is to provide you with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans

You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  Anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  

All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, protecting Americans for over a century.  There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this communication, and future communication, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. On 1/11/1964, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on tobacco based on review of 7,000 medical publications. To date, there exist over 37,500 articles on marijuana research reports in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana).

On 8/29/2019, the Surgeon General emphasized “the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”  

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain | HHS.gov

Attached please find an accessible peer-reviewed scientific article on the topic of how with heat the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) converts to the psychoactive forms of THC.

https:www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88389-z.pdf

Paper: CBD, a precursor of THC in e-cigarettes

  • Here are the Top Three Key Points:

1. CBD has been shown to convert to THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana with the use of electronic cigarettes.

2. Delta-8 THC is also one of the main components with the use of CBD in electronic cigarettes, which is psychoactive like delta-9 THC and is completely unregulated by the FDA and is easily accessible to youth without any safeguards in place.

3. CBD, is a main component found in hemp, was allowed by the US government to no longer be scheduled controlled substance – yet CBD converts easily to a controlled psychoactive substance (THC).

Thank you for reading the letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific article. If you can help find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that CBD when heated is not converted to psychoactive THC, please send them to me.

With regards,

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


August 2021

Association of increasing cannabis use with US pediatric cancers and reproductive cell damage…

Dear                             :

 On 7/15/2021, the Surgeon General issued a warning on health disinformation. He was referring to Coronavirus, but misinformation is costing lives in drugs, addiction, and marijuana use. 

I am contacting you today to share science-based health policy on marijuana. My goal is to provide you with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans

You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  Anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  

All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, protecting Americans for over a century.  There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this communication, and future communication, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. On 1/11/1964, the Surgeon General issued an advisory on tobacco based on review of 7,000 medical publications. To date, there exist over 37,500 articles on marijuana research reports in the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana).

On 8/29/2019, the Surgeon General emphasized “the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.”  

U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain | HHS.gov

Attached please find two accessible peer-reviewed scientific articles on the topic of cannabis rising use is consistent with rising pediatric cancers and seizure rates and is associated with DNA, chromosomal damage and is toxic to both male sperm and female oocytes.

A geospatiotemporal and causal inference epidemiological exploration of substance and cannabinoid exposure as drivers of rising US pediatric cancer rates | BMC Cancer | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)

Paper: A geospatiotemporal and causal inference epidemiological exploration of substance and cannabinoid exposure as drivers of rising US pediatric cancer rates

  • Top Three Key Points:
  • “The main results of this study confirmed that total Pediatric cancer rates have risen significantly nationally across USA and this trend holds for the commonest pediatric malignancies the leukemias, Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, localized and distant sarcoma and testicular cancer.” 
  • “It was important to note across this period that the use of tobacco, alcohol use disorders, cocaine and analgesic abuse declined as measured in major national surveys whilst cannabis use alone was rising.” 
  • The cannabinoid concentrations identified in USA Federal drug seizure data also rose for most cannabis components.

Epidemiological overview of multidimensional chromosomal and genome toxicity of cannabis exposure in congenital anomalies and cancer development | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

Epidemiological overview of multidimensional chromosomal and genome toxicity of cannabis exposure in congenital anomalies and cancer development

  • Top Three Key Points:
  • Cannabis causes major DNA alterations; these harmful changes can be passed to subsequent generations in humans.
  • Previous studies have reported individual conditions in the young known to be associated with cannabis related chromosomal damage: the current data highlight cannabis harms on multiple human chromosomes.
  • Cannabis and the cannabinoids (THC, cannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabinol) have been shown to be toxic to oocytes (female sex cells in the process of development), sperm, chromosomes, and DNA – which can be harmful to future generations.

Thank you for reading the letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis has no impact on the rising pediatric cancer rates and does not cause damage to reproductive cells, please send them to me.

With regards,

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


July 2021

CALL TO ACTION: Association of Suicidality Trends with Cannabis Use …

Dear…,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe.This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find this month’s related peer-reviewed scientific article on the topic of cannabis not being appropriate for depression and is a risk for suicide: 

Hahn B, et al. Associations of suicidality trends with cannabis use as a function of sex and depression status.  JAMA Network Open. 2021 Jun; 4(6): e2113025.  Published online 2021 Jun 22. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13025

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8220498

Here are three important facts from this article for your consideration.                                                                                

  1. From 2008 to 2019, suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt increased 40% to 60% over increases ascribed to cannabis use and MDE (major depressive episode).
  2. Non-daily users, daily users, and those with CUD (cannabis use disorder), were associated with a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt more significantly in women than in men.
  3. Because the prevalence of CUD increases with time since initiation of use among young adults (18 to 34 years old), the results of the paper underscore an urgent need for prevention interventions designed specifically for young people before first cannabis exposure and highlight the importance of early screening for daily cannabis use and CUD, as well as, CUD treatment, especially among young women.

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis is effective for depression and reduces the incidence of suicide especially in women who use cannabis – please send them to me.  Simply reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


June 2021

CALL TO ACTION: CANNABIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE IN PEOPLE WITH PAIN

Dear …,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA-approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find in this month two related peer-reviewed scientific articles on the topic of cannabis not being appropriate for non-cancer pain: 

Campbell G, et al. Effect of cannabis use in people with chronic non-cancer pain prescribed opioids: findings from a 4-year prospective cohort study. Lancet Public Health 2018;3:e341-50.

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2468-2667%2818%2930110-5

Boland EG, et al. Cannabinoids for adult cancer-related pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Support Palliat Care 2020;10:14-24.

https://www.spcare.bmj.com/content/bmjspcare/10/1/14.full.pdf

Here are three important facts from these articles for your consideration.                                                                                

  1. Participants who used cannabis had a greater pain severity score and greater generalized anxiety disorder scores when compared to those who did not use cannabis.
  2. There was no evidence that cannabis use reduces prescribed opioid use or increased rates of opioid discontinuation.
  3. Studies with a low risk of bias showed that for adults with advanced cancer, the addition of cannabinoids to opioids did not reduce cancer pain compared with placebo and cannabinoids are associated with adverse effects including hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhea, and  euphoria.  

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis is effective for non-cancer or cancer pain, decreases anxiety, directly decreases opiate drug use with a lower incidence of adverse effects – please send them to me.  Simply reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


May 2021

CALL TO ACTION: SECONDHAND MARIJUANA SMOKE IS NOT BENIGN

Dear…,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA-approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find in this month three related peer-reviewed scientific articles on the topic of second-hand marijuana smoke: 

Wilson KM, et al. Detecting biomarkers of secondhand marijuana smoke in young children. 2017;81(4):589-592. Doi:10.1038/pr.2016.261 https://www.nature.com/articles/pr2016261.pdf

Wilson KM, et al. Marijuana and tobacco coexposure in hospitalized children. 2018;142(6):1-7. Pediatrics. e20180820

Wang X, et al. One minute of marijuana secondhand smoke exposure substantially impairs vascular endothelial function. 2016;5:e003858 doi:10.1161/J Am Heart Assoc.116.003858 

Here are three important facts from these articles for your consideration.     

  1. One out of six or 16% of children under 2 years of age, hospitalized with bronchiolitis in Colorado between 2013-2015, were found to have marijuana products in their blood, indicating prior exposure to the drug. 
  2. Approximately 50% of hospitalized Colorado children whose parents were in a smoke cessation program also showed biologic evidence of exposure to marijuana.  
  3. In animals, only one minute of exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke substantially harms vascular function for at least 90 minutes, suggesting that secondhand marijuana smoke can harm the heart and blood vessels just as we know secondhand tobacco smoke contributes to heart attacks and peripheral vascular disease.

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that second-hand cannabis smoke exposure is not harmful– please send them to me.  Simply reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


April 2021

CALL TO ACTION: Association of High-Potency Cannabis Use with Mental Health and Substance Use in Adolescence

Dear…,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA-approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find in this month’s peer-reviewed scientific article: Hines LA, Freeman TP, Gage SH, et al. Association of High-Potency Cannabis Use With Mental Health and Substance Use in Adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(10):1044–1051. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.1035

Here are three important facts from these articles for your consideration.       

After adjustment for age at onset of cannabis use or for early adolescent measures of psychopathologic conditions and frequency of cannabis use, as compared to lower-potency cannabis users high-potency cannabis in 141 participants was associated with:

  1. increase by 4-fold the likelihood of frequent cannabis use, 
  2. a 10-fold increase in cannabis use problems (i.e. memory problems, smoking before midday, smoking alone, unsuccessful attempts to quit, etc.), and
  3. a nearly 2-fold increase in experiencing generalized anxiety disorder.

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that high potency cannabis improves adolescent health – please send them to me.  Simply reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


March 2021

CALL TO ACTION: Chronic recreational cannabis use impairs driving performance even without acute intoxication symptoms

Dear…,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is a popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA-approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find in this month’s peer-reviewed scientific article: Dahlgren MK, et al. Recreational cannabis use impaired driving performance in absence of acute intoxication.  Drug Alcohol Depend 2020 Mar 1;208:107771. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107771.

Here are three important facts from this article for your consideration.   

  1. Chronic, recreational cannabis use is associated with impaired driving even in the absence of acute intoxication.
  2. Cannabis users performed worse than healthy controls with increased crashes, speeding, weaving and reduced road rule-following.
  3. Early onset of cannabis use was associated with greater driving impairment. 

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific articles. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show that cannabis improves one’s driving ability – please send them to me.  Simply reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)


February 2021

CALL TO ACTION: The Number of Marijuana Dispensaries Impact Hospitalizations

Dear…,

I am writing to you today as I am very concerned for American families and communities regarding the widespread marketing and legalization of marijuana and the drug expansion culture.

I am contacting you with peer-reviewed science and data because we have been impacted negatively by the rampant marijuana proliferation in our communities. My goal is to provide policymakers with data and research to support your efforts in advancing legislation that promotes public health and safety for all Americans. I feel the attached articles could be helpful to you as you continue to pass informed legislation on marijuana and other drugs.

The marijuana lobby is aggressive in promoting an agenda that would increase access and availability of high potency, addictive products. Like Big Tobacco, they are not concerned with the science or societal impacts, only profits. You may have been told that marijuana is harmless and even safe. This could not be further from the truth. The science of marijuana harms is not debatable.  

It is popular belief that marijuana is medicine; however, anecdotal claims and unscientific reports are not sufficient evidence to further legalize/promote marijuana use.  All FDA-approved pharmaceuticals have undergone scientific rigors, some of which began over a century ago.  

There have been FDA-approved marijuana-related products since 1985 (dronabinol = THC, Marinol®, generic versions) and 2018 (cannabidiol = CBD, Epidiolex®).  These products have undergone the scientific rigors of medical research unlike the marijuana and current “retail CBD” products — which are not regulated by the FDA — that are sold in many states to an uninformed public.

The goal of this email, and future emails, is to provide you with peer-reviewed scientific evidence about the many hazards of marijuana. To date, there exist over 36,200 articles on marijuana research on the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine (.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=marijuana). 

Attached please find the first of our peer-reviewed articles: Mair C, et al. The impacts of marijuana dispensary density and neighborhood ecology on marijuana abuse and dependence.  Drug Alcohol Depend 2015 Sept 1; 154: 111-116. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.06.019.

Here are two important facts from this article for your consideration.                                                                                

  1. For every one marijuana dispensary per square mile added there was a 6.8% increase in the number of marijuana hospitalizations with a marijuana abuse/dependence code.  Policy makers should regulate the density of dispensaries.
  2. There was a large and steady increase in the rates of marijuana abuse/dependence hospitalizations from 2001 to 2012 in California (with medical marijuana dispensaries at this time) even after controlling for demographic and other environmental covariates. 

What happens to marijuana hospitalizations when marijuana becomes “recreational”?

Thank you for reading my letter and the accompanying peer-reviewed scientific article. If you can help us find any peer-reviewed, scientific articles that show there are positive impacts of marijuana dispensaries on neighborhoods and hospitalizations, please send them to me.  

Thank you in advance for your attention to this very serious issue.

(Note: This letter is sharable at this link)